Mayank Shah, senior category head, Parle Products, says that for people in India, the company does not look at Parle-G as a biscuit but as a food staple. In FY 22, it clocked more than $2 billion in sales, while Parle-G, its glucose biscuit brand, crossed the $1 billion mark in retail sales in December 2021, as per an Economic Times report.
Parle revels in unwavering demand from all socioeconomic sections of India and has brought out three advertisements showing the stories of three kids and how they express values like empathy and sacrifice their needs and wants for someone else’s happiness.
According to Shah, though the brand has nationwide acceptance and demand, he reveals that it can get difficult to address everyone. That is when “you talk about universal values like empathy, compassion, and kindness.”
He points out that kids’ learning and upbringing were severely affected by the lockdown and staying indoors. He feels it impacted their ability to absorb social cues and values, and because kids and mothers are the primary target group of the glucose biscuit, the ads, in a way, acknowledge them for helping build the brand.
Parle-G is a family brand, and nothing resonates better with them than family values. For example, during the first phase of the lockdown, the company announced that it would distribute three crore packs free of charge to those in need. Also, at times of man-made or natural calamities, one will always spot the glucose biscuits as one of the first few items being distributed to the public.
“There are multiple things, apart from advertising, that go into forming the image of the brand in the consumer’s mind.” “These are the things that help with advertising,” asserts Shah.
Furthermore, even if there was a price increase due to inflation—Parle Products last raised its product prices in May 2022, by 5-6%, according to Financial Express in June 2022—”currently, the outlook is stable, so we’re not looking at any price hikes in Parle-G given the current scenario, at least for some time to come.”
Parle is also upgrading with time and has launched breakfast cereal with Hide & Seek Fills, introduced Parle-G Kismi Cinnamon Biscuits, Parle-G Oats & Berries Biscuits, and Parle-G Cookies, dropped a Genius merchandise line, and even entered the branded atta market with Parle-G Chakki Atta.
An interesting aspect of the Parle-G biscuit is its usage in dessert preparation, where it competes against the likes of Lotus Biscoff. A popular method to lead in this space is influencer marketing with chefs or home cooks.
While Parle-G released simple recipe videos a few years ago and, today, does team up with said folks, it does not have to do it very often because of the vast magnitude of user-generated content it enjoys online.”How to Eat Parle-G,” “Why to Eat,” “When to Eat,” and “How Foreigners Feel When They Eat Parle-G” are some of the topics the brand enjoys.